Two Florida girls abducted from the home of their foster parents were recovered unharmed after a police pursuit on Interstate 20 in Ruston Friday.
Tillie Claire Williams, 5, and Natalia Williams, 1, were reported missing Thursday morning out of Sorrento, Florida where they were last seen. An Amber Alert was issued according to the Lake County, Florida Sheriff’s Office.
Dixie Williams, 41, the biological mother of the girls, is accused of taking the children from their foster home. She was arrested on Florida warrants on Interstate 20 near the Tarbutton Road exit by Louisiana State Police with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies, including the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office, according to Sheriff Stephen Williams.
On Thursday, a foster parent contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office about 7:00 a.m. to report two of her foster children were missing from the residence located in Sorrento. The two girls were last seen about 11:00 p.m. Wednesday night by the foster parent.
According to a probable cause affidavit for kidnapping arrest warrants, Dixie Williams recently borrowed the foster parents’ vehicle, and they later noticed the pass to enter their neighborhood was missing. They believed Dixie Williams or Cody Williams, the girls’ biological father, possibly used the pass to enter the neighborhood and take the girls.
Sorrento, where the children lived, is located about 40 minutes north of Orlando. Driving time to Ruston is approximately 12 hours.
Technology played a big role in locating Williams and recovering the children.
“A tipster came forward and said, ‘I rented a vehicle for Dixie,’ and that vehicle just happened to have GPS tracking capabilities, so we were quickly jumping on that, tracking the vehicle,” said Lt. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
By the time Lake County began tracking the car, it had reached North Louisiana.
Louisiana State Police said troopers tried to pull Williams over, but she refused to stop for them. She pulled in briefly at the westbound Choudrant rest area, placed one of the children on her lap, and continued to flee. Lincoln Parish deputies joined the pursuit and tire deflation devices were deployed to stop the vehicle. Once the vehicle stopped, Williams was taken into custody without incident.
According to State Police, Williams was booked for two counts of kidnapping on the Florida warrants, resisting an officer, aggravated flight from an officer, driving under suspension, two counts of no child passenger restraint system, and no seat belt use.
Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office investigator Lt. Matt Henderson said Williams refused to tell him where she was headed but mentioned a lawyer in California who could help her regain custody of her children.
Since the kidnapping, Florida TV stations have been airing police body cam video of Williams’s 2022 arrest where she argued with the police officer that she didn’t need a driver’s license to be behind the wheel. Video also showed Williams throwing herself on the ground and screaming at the officer.
While Williams and her husband have been identified as “sovereign citizens” by Florida authorities, Henderson said Dixie Williams refused to confirm that but did make some statements often identified with that movement.
The FBI defines sovereigns as “anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or ‘sovereign’ from the United States.”
Sovereign citizens believe the courts have no jurisdiction over people and the use of certain procedures (such as writing specific phrases on bills they do not want to pay) and loopholes can make one immune from government laws and regulations. They also regard most taxation as illegitimate and reject the need for government documents like driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations. They typically do not recognize the authority of any law enforcement officer except the county (parish) sheriff. Sovereign citizen arguments have no basis in law and have never been successful in any court.
Williams is incarcerated at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center. She will be extradited back to Florida at some point, but prosecutors will determine whether she will face charges in Louisiana or Florida first.
The children were turned over to the custody of the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services until arrangements can be made to return them to Florida.
